Free Applications May Not Provide The Best Value
According to the fortune-cookie logic most people live by, the best things in life are free. That's crap. I have a gold-plated robot that scratches the exact part of my back where my hands can't reach, and it certainly wasn't free.
- Josh Lieb
My husband, Jeff, and I love to cook and entertain. We shop for fresh food every day - by we shop, I mean mostly Jeff - and make our 90% of our food from the ground up (not our pasta - that’s just crazy talk). We have almost zero food waste; only veg trimmings*, bones* and fat run-off. And we are relentless about composting the waste.
But we weren’t always. Our ease of composting came about because we bought a composter that makes it easy to do it consistently. In the past, our efforts were stymied by using the wrong equipment, which was free.
Our County sent us a compost bin.
It was as ugly and awkward as a baby Bald Eagle (go ahead, Google it, they are wholly unattractive!), so we didn’t want it sitting on our counter
Which meant we had to get it out every time we wanted to put something in it
We didn’t get it out often; it was easier to chuck waste in the garbage (bad humans alert)
And even when we did get it out, it was not easy to use
You had to pop a little closure thing with one hand and lift the lid with your other hand
Of course, by the time you went to do this, you had the food waste in the hand you needed to open the bin
And the lid closed if you bumped it
It was a bad shape, too - more rectangle than a square
So you could muck up the lid with waste that was too big for the depth
Oh, and the compost bags didn’t fit well in that you couldn’t roll them over the edge because of the way the lid closed and the bin handle
So they slipped in when you put stuff in the bin, and it got dirty
Which meant you had to clean it often
But, it didn’t clean well
You needed to use a Magic Eraser to get it all spic & span
If you made it through that dissertation, you could see there were too many friction points to use the free composter as often as we should have. To be fair, many people use these free bins, and there is a chance we are way too fussy about our kitchen equipment. But all the same, it caused enough trouble that we didn’t compost like we wanted to.
So I went on the hunt for a bin that would make us more socially conscious, green-earth people. And I found one. It wasn’t free, it wasn’t cheap, but it works perfectly. It solved all our issues, and we compost like the dickens now.
It looks great on our counter
It has a one-finger soft open button
It is the perfect size
It has an inside box that the compost bag fits on perfectly and stays in place
It is super easy to clean
We interact with our business apps similarly. We have some free ones that do light lifting and serve their useful purpose just fine. And more importantly, they aren’t holding us back.
But, many of us hesitate to pay for an app even though it will do great things for us and aid us in doing great things.
I get that we aren’t made of money. We must pick and choose where we get spendy with apps; we need to exercise caution with over-teching. You can part with your dollars wisely, though.
Look at your processes & work, and the technology that powers them:
Detail your desired outcomes
Assess what the stickling parts are
Define what systems and tools would lead to those outcomes by overcoming the friction points
Research and demo apps
Implement
Need help defining outcomes, analyzing processes, and implementing technology? I’m your gal!
A lot of you downloaded my Managing Client Expectations Worksheet since my blog and email went out last week. This is a super simple starter resource to get you thinking about how you are communicating and sharing with your clients. Once you have decided on your boundaries and expectations, you must let your clients know them! So this week’s template is a resource to do just that thing.
Featured Template
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Featured Template ~~~
15% off discount code: BLOG
Clients are more engaged and compliant if expectations of their responsibilities are clear, workflows are pre-set for them, Tax Agency best practices are established, and they understand the basics of bulletproof bookkeeping.
If you don't take the time to provide this information, clients are not confident in collaborating with you. They don't know how to communicate with you, or supply information, and they don't know due dates. They lack confidence in the tech and they are unsure how to reach out for support...
A Client Guidebook creates clarity and empowers your clients so that they feel confident about what's getting done and their role in the process. It also positions your firm as the expert in this field.
It can be a lot of work to put together a comprehensive Client Guidebook from scratch.
Luckily for you, we’ve already done all the leg work! Created by accounting professionals, these templates create the conditions for a harmonious and efficient relationship with your new client.
What You Get:
• Long version (has a glossary, cloud accounting explanation and sample client workflow) Guidebook template. Short version is more succinct. Supplied as in horizontal and vertical layouts, in PowerPoint (PPT) and Google Slides (GSlide) versions.
• Folder with instructions, app partner logos and app flowchart images.
Here is what the branded, short version for my bookkeeping business looks like.
And here is a (not very professional) video of the templates you will receive. The templates were revised in July 2024, since this video. But you get an idea of what you will receive :-}
- Universal Accounting GrowCon
May 8 - 9th, 2023
Lehi, Utah
I’m hosting a session at GrowCon for the very first time.
It’s all about change management in a cloud-based world.
“Change is Hard. Not Changing will be harder.” (TM)
A discussion on iterating on solid processes you have, moving on from poor ones and embracing cloud technology and automation to power your processes.
Agenda
Why you shouldn’t fear change - embrace it
Why you need to adopt a leap of faith mentality for Cloud technology
How to analyze what’s going well
How to analyze what stinks
Why you should always be iterating
Why GrowCon is the BEST live experience for Business Owners of Bookkeeping, Accounting and Tax Preparation Companies:
COLLABORATE
Make valuable connections with others in the industry...connections that will greatly impact your business.
Mastermind, share the latest trade ideas and build referrals for each other!
EVOLVE
Learn the latest tips, technologies, software and tools that can improve your productivity and systems and find effective ways to strengthen your mindset, allowing for more success!
GROW
Come find out how to market your business to get more clients, scale your business so you are not doing all the work and grow your network and connections opening the path for organic growth!
GC23-KM-MAR Will give you $300 off the event in the month of March
Sociable
- said in your head in a loud sing-songy voice
The Workflow Wateringhole got shut out in the Accounting High Bracket Challenge. But lots of amazing industry apps, communities and influencers are moving forward. You can vote for them here.
Don’t know about The Workflow Wateringhole?
We are a Facebook group of nearly 5,000 engaged acctg pros and app partners - collaborating on best practices, processes, systems, and workflows, hand in hand with the technology that powers them. Here is a link to join us.
Simply yours, Kellie :-}
::Shameless Call To Action::
I sell bookkeeping templates, standard operating process handbooks and client guides.
15% off discount code: BLOG
*We make stock from the veg trimmings and bones and then compost that waste. It smells so good to have that bubbling away the day after the original meal :-}
